1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a combination awning and shutter and more particularly to a combination security shutter and awning assembly which may serve both decorative and functional purposes when in the awning position and which may be readily positionable and locked in the closed security shutter position to protectably seal off the wall openings to prevent access to the building during non-business hours and the like without obstructing sidewalk traffic or presenting an unsightly appearance.
The present invention employs protective panels comprising a relatively burglar-resistant material which may itself be decorative or include designs or decorative patterns thereon. When in the opened awning position, the assembly is positioned overhead so that as not to interfere with traffic passing on the sidewalk in front of the building and so as to allow a free and open physical access to the door and visual access to the display windows and the like. The assembly in the awning position will be pleasing to the eye and serve to protect pedestrians from rain and snow in inclement weather and to shade pedestrians and to shield the merchandise in the windows from harmful rays from the sun on hot sunny days.
In the closed security shutter position, the assembly lies nearly flush with the building wall so as not to obstruct or interfere with pedestrian traffic passing in front of the building. The protective panels present a pleasing appearance rather than the dreary and foreboding appearance offered by iron bars or metal grating of the prior art, yet still provide a large measure of protection from burglars, vandals and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art teaches many types of security devices for protecting wall openings such as doors, display windows and the like. Most of these security devices are extremely unsightly, and many do not completely protect the windows from vandalism since objects thrown by vandals often pass between the bars or metal grating and cause damage to the windows and the like. Furthermore, when a large number of stores and other business facilities in an area are protected by the prior art security devices, potential customers and shoppers seeing the security devices during non-business hours, are often frightened or receive a bad impression of the area and tend to do their shopping elsewhere. The effect of a large number of businesses using the forebodying prior art devices is to create an aura of apprehensiveness about the neighborhood which tends to discourage rather than encourage future growth and development of the area.
The prior art also teaches many types of awning assemblies although most are single purpose awnings which serve to protect pedestians from sun and rain during the summer months but which are removed and stored during the winter months because they have low snow load and/or wind load capacities and would collapse under the weight of snow experienced in most northern cities during the winter months.
Further, the prior art includes several types of combination shutter and awning devices but most of these are adapted for covering a single window of a domestic dwelling. Others are awkward and cumbersome and tend to obstruct pedestrian traffic when in a closed position. Most are relatively unsightly at least in the shutter position and all of the larger types capable of covering a display window or the like appear to involve relatively complex mechanical mechanisms for constructing and for raising and lowering the apparatus between the shutter and awning positions.
The present invention avoids most of the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a dual purpose security shutter and awning assembly which is both decorative and functional when in either the awning or the shutter postion. The assembly of the present invention is relatively simple to install, easy to maintain, and easy to operate. The assembly of the present invention does not obstruct pedestrian traffic in either the opened or closed positions and tends to produce a pleasant and cheerful aura in the business district even during non-business hours which is conducive to the economic growth of business in the area since potential shoppers and customers will be attracted to rather than repelled from business districts employing the assembly of the present invention. At the same time, the assembly provides a high degree of protection during non-business hours from burglars, vandals and the like.
The present invention teaches a single relatively simple mechanical assembly which provides adequate protection while simultaneously promoting the business growth and customer appeal which was heretofore unachievable by any of the security shutters of the prior art.